Public Vs. Private

Dave Killion — November 18, 2010

The wonderful author Mario Vargas Llosa is the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for literature. It is unheard of for an author with his classical liberal outlook to win, and there are plenty of folks on the left unhappy with his victory. That, to my mind, is reason enough to read him, but even if it wasn’t, he is a powerful and compelling author. If you are interested in his work, there are a number of his titles available at the Greater Victoria Public Libraries. I recommend “The Bad Girl”, “The Feast of the Goat”, and “The Green House”.

Of course, the library being a public service, they are not equipped to meet high demand for popular materials, so you will have to place a hold on the title you like, and then wait for it to be read and returned by everyone who placed a hold before you. That will be five people, seven people, and four people, respectively. So it will be some months before you get your title, but hey, when government supplies “free” stuff, you gotta expect rationing.

If you’d like something to do while you wait for your book, you can always go Blockbuster and rent a highly demanded, popular movie guaranteed to be in stock. If it isn’t, you will get it later for free. Thank you, free enterprise!